The difference between terrorism and political action

Letter: Like Mark Dowaliby (Daily Mail, April 19), I know that peace and the active waging of peace is the only real solution to violence. This is an eternal truth. However, I disagree with his condemnation of the so-called “eco-terrorists,” and I think it would be wise to differentiate between acts of damage to buildings and budgets, as was the case here, and real acts of violence perpetrated against living beings, which the “eco-terrorists” have always taken care to avoid, and which in fact is exactly what they are trying to stop.I put the term in quotes because simply calling someone a terrorist does not make it so. This is a clever and devious tactic used by those in positions of power and privilege to prey upon the easily-kindled emotions of fear and hatred amongst the populace in order to manipulate them and maintain the status quo.If we take an honest look at who is engaging in real terrorism – i.e. inflicting violence on living beings, and destroying their habitat, for profit, pleasure, or political gain – we might begin to see through the veil of delusion that we have been so cunningly conditioned to accept as reality.Those who make this effort, and put their lives on the line to defend the lives of the innocent, are true heroes, and the best among us. We have much more to fear from those who are blindly leading us into the abyss of greed, anger and ignorance.Even in a democracy, sometimes voting is not enough, especially when the system is demonstrably corrupt. Sometimes you have to take action. There is no shame in trying to end injustice. There is only shame in doing nothing.The Summit Daily News welcomes letters to the editor, preferably by e-mail to letters@summitdaily.com. Past letters can be read at http://www.summitdaily.com. All letters must be submitted along with the author’s name, hometown and phone number.

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